Football pundit Paul Robinson has said that he is confused as to what Leeds United are planning for Ian Poveda after the player was dropped from their first-team squad for the past seven games.
“I’ve got no idea what’s going on with Poveda and I’m at the academy three times a week so I normally hear what’s going on,” said Robinson as quoted by MOTM Leeds News.
“It will be interesting to hear what the official line is.
“He’s a top player without a doubt, but Man City have let him go at a young age and that says something.
“But to be signed and then played and then dropped, it’s strange.”
After joining Leeds from Manchester City during the January transfer window, the 20-year-old was included on the bench for his first two games – though he has been left out of the match-day squad ever since.
This is indeed very strange. Poveda is old enough to be in the Leeds first-team on a regular basis and since the club acquired him in January, it would have been safe to assume that Marcelo Bielsa was planning to use him in the first-team.
Poveda is also not lacking in terms of fitness. He was in action for the club’s U-23 side on Monday and produced a moment of brilliance to create the opening goal for Bobby Kamwa during their 1-1 draw with Barnsley.
Poveda is definitely a player with tremendous ability and who is good enough to make the Whites first-team.
He has previously donned the jersey of Chelsea, Arsenal, Barcelona and Manchester City as a youth player and this illustrates how highly-rated he is.
The most logical reason for Poveda’s absence from the first-team is that Leeds boss Bielsa feels that he is not yet fully match-fit.
The South American boss is known to be one who is strict about match-fitness and has previously criticised Jean-Kevin Augustin about not being match fit before the player picked up a hamstring injury.
